It is generally easier to criticize those who are poor than to extend love to them. We can sometimes become more absorbed with how people became poor than the fact that they currently have needs. We may debate whether certain people are poor today because of foolish choices they made previously. Perhaps they did not find a way to go to college. Maybe they didn’t look hard enough for a good job. Perhaps they have grown accustomed to handouts from others . . . At times we can be so busy coming up with reasons why people are needy that what is lost in our deliberations is the fact that God instructed us to love them.
Pointing an accusing finger from afar is not love. Explaining how we think people ended up in poverty does not satisfy God’s concern that we reach out to them. The poor are extremely vulnerable. It can be easy to take advantage of them. If we are an employer, it can be tempting to pay them less than we should or to ask more of them than is fair. The poor have little recourse. They have few places to turn for help. Perhaps that is why God takes an active role and concern on their behalf.
God states that we honor Him when we show mercy to the needy. What we do to the poor; we do to God. When we choose to be generous and to demonstrate mercy, we reflect God’s heart. How have you been bringing glory to God by the way you treat those in need?